Steps to Slash Mortgage Repayments in 2011
Getting out from under your mortgage is a desire for many homeowners. It is the largest amount of debt that most people take on in their lifetime. The sooner you pay down your home loan, the sooner you can have the freedom to do things you couldn’t before.
Paying off a debt over decades means you will pay a large sum in interest. If you want to pay off your mortgage early this means a big portion of that interest that is to be paid to the mortgage company will be a savings to you. No one wants to spend much of their life shackled to a mortgage.
What To Do To Make It Happen
There are steps that you can take in order to bring down your mortgage and make it possible for you to pay it off sooner than later. Here are a few that you can try:
1. Contact your lender – Mortgage lenders are grateful for your business (or, should be!) so you should start by contacting your lender to see if you can re-negotiate your mortgage. You can ask to speak to a customer service professional and he or she will most likely forward you to someone in the retention department. Inform the representative that you are interested in finding a way to lower the interest rate on your mortgage.
Most lenders will look at your payment history to determine what kind of customer you have been and if you have been reliable they may be willing to work with you. Look at the remaining balance and see if you can get it lowered by lowering you interest rate. If you find they are not willing right away, tell them that you may be willing to move your balance over to another lender. This may get the conversation going in your direction!
2. Look at several lenders – Even if you are happy with and want to remain with your current lender, it may be worth your while to look around at other lenders to see what types of offers they might have. There are many lenders that are always interested in acquiring new business so you have the advantage. Ask what kind of rates they are offering and what types of products they have and compare it with your current lender. Shopping around usually lends itself to finding the best deal. You can also check on the internet to find out what kinds of rates are currently being offered. This may give you some leverage or some knowledge when you are speaking with the mortgage professionals. If someone is quoting a rate that seems out of the ordinary you will know because of the research you did beforehand.
Do not be taken in by the first offer. Each lender will do their best to make it sound like their offer is the best one around. Do the legwork yourself and you will be able to discover which one is the best for you.
3. Beware of add-ons – If you have found a reputable lender that you trust and you are ready to move on with refinancing your mortgage, beware that they will do all they can to increase their profit. One way of doing this is by trying to entice you with extras like life insurance, insurance for contents, homeowners insurance, etc. These products have their value but you may not need all of it. Only keep the extras that you know will be of the most value to you. Cut out all the rest.
If you take the time to follow these tips, you will cut down your mortgage by thousands of dollars.
This article was written by William from HomeLoanFinder. If you're looking for a home equity loan or variable home loans visit HomeLoanFinder for a range of comprehensive guides and mortgage reviews.
Thanks! I didn't realize that I could call and just talk to them about lowering my interest rate.
ReplyDeleteCarliAlice,
ReplyDeleteI haven't paid too much attention to lowering but after William submitted this guest post, it has motivated me to look into it! I may have to call and do some sweet talking :) We have always paid on time. Fingers crossed.
We don't own a home yet, we're going to be taking over my MIL's home in a year or so when she gets too old to take care of it. I thank you for the advice though. You never know what could happen, and I didn't know a lot of this info.
ReplyDeleteThe mainstream banks and building societies remain fully committed to working constructively with those of their customers who are experiencing genuine difficulty with their mortgage repayments.
ReplyDeleteContact your mortgage lender as soon as possible if you're having trouble with your mortgage repayments or you are concerned that this might be likely to happen and look at your financial situation to make sure that you're maximizing your income and draw up a budget based on your most important spending commitments.
What excellent comments! Many mortgage borrowers can often feel weighed down by their ongoing mortgage repayments and do not think to negotiate a better deal with their current lender. Mortgage lenders value you as a customer and with so many competitve mortgage products available will work hard to avoid you refinancing to another lender
ReplyDelete